Brazilian economic development has been characterized by a series of boom and bust periods with little to be said in terms of sustainable development. Because of this, governments throughout the latter half of the 20th century have made efforts to guide development via economic diversity through forced industrialization. In relative terms, poverty inequality, foreign debt and inflation remain staggering. As an example, in 1995, Brazil’s total outstanding foreign debt was 159 billion dollars. This has had significant repellant effects on foreign investment. During the Latin American Debt crisis in 1995, the pressures that were placed on the Brazilian economy could not be sustained. With an economy that was just starting to really grow, it could not repay the debts that it had accumulated during this crisis period. Like a bubble, the economy burst and Brazil continues to suffer the effects of a high reliance on foreign capital. This paper will look at the record of Brazilian economic development in terms of these and other important indicators.